Fire-escape



(No Model.)

2 Sheets-Sheet l. P. SHICKLE.

PIRE ESCAPE.

N0. 312,908. Patented Feb. 24, 1885.

' y 2 Sheets-Sheef 2.

F. SHICKLE. E A PIRE ESCAPE. NO'BlZQS Patentedfeb. 24, l885 (V W? il NrTnn dTaTns AFaTTNT @Trina l FREDERICK SHICKLE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

F! RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 312,908, dated February 24, 1885. .-h'iplieafion lilrd June G, 1894 (No model.)

" of St. Louis. Missouri, have made a new and useful Improvement in Fi re-Escapes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the annexed draw- `ings, making part of this specification, in

which- Figure l is a view in perspective, showing theimprovemeut in position upon a building, the building being shown in broken lines; Fig. 2, aside elevation, upon an enlarged scale, ot' theupper end of the escape; Fig. 3, a front elevation of the escape; Fig. 4, a horizontal section on the line4 4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5, a front elevation of the lower end of the escape, the extension being drawn up; Fig. G, a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 4; and Figs. 7, 8, 9, views illustrating a modification in the arrangement of the rope, and showing also the rollers at the lower end of the ladder.

The saine letters ot' reference denote the same parts.

The present invention is an improve-ment in that class of lire-escapes having a movable ladder upon the outer side ot' the building.

The improvement relates tothe construe tion of the ladder and to the mode of attaching it to and adjusting it upon the building.

The building A, to which the escape is to be applied, is provided with a rail, B, Figs. l, 2, which, by means ot suitable brackets, b b, is supported upon the front a ofthe building, and, if desired, extended around the sides aa of the building; but a single rail is used, for reasons hereinafter explained.

C represents a ladder adapted to be suspended from and to be shifted laterally upon the rail B. It is also hung so that its lower end can be drawn outward from the building, and so that the ladder can be inclinedas well as turned at various angles to the face of the building. To this end but a single rail B is used, and the ladder has but a single point of connection with the rail. The ladder is swiveled to a hanger, D, and the hanger is provided with a grooved wheel, E, which rides upon the rail B. This enables the ladder to hang perpendicularly beneath the rail, as shown in F1' g. 2. Theladdercan also be shifted laterally by causing the wheel E to be rotated. The ladder, hanger, and wheel can also be turned upon the rail, so that theladder at its lower end can be drawn outward from the face of the building or be inclined from a perpendieular, and, further, by means of the swiveled connection of the ladder with the hanger the ladder' can be turned around. This enables the ladder to be held with relation to the building in many positions to suit the varying circumstances attending the use of the escape.

To move the ladder laterally the following mechanism is employed. The shaft c of the wheel E is extended outward, and is provided with the gear F, Figs. 2, 3. Thisgearengages with a pinion, G, upon the shaft g. This lastnalned shaft is held in the hangerand is extended outward, so as to receive the sprocketwheel H, which is fastened to the shaft g. An endless chain, I, leads around the sprocketwheel and downward to ortoward the lower end of the ladder, and to guide the chain in its movement it is preferably passed through the eyes i i, which areattached to the ladder. The lower end of the chain is also preferably passed around a wheel, J, Figs. 3, 4, 5, whose shat'tj is provided with a crank,j. By rotating the crank the chain is caused to draw i around the sprocket-wheel H, and thereby communicate the motion of the sprocketwvheel to the wheel E, which rides upon the rail B. This causes the ladder to be moved along the rail B, and to the right orleft, according as the crank j and chain I are moved. In this manner the ladder can be moved along the front and sides of the building, as desired. The chain can be operated without using the wheel J but with a heavy ladder it is desirable to employ the wheel J.

The ladder, so far as moving and adjusting it is concerned, may be constructed in any of the ordinary forms. I prefer, however, to make its sides c c tubular, in order thereby that the ladder may be. used as a means for conducting a stream or streams of water upward, so as to be delivered from the ladder onto the upper portion of the building. To this end the tubes c c, at the lower and upper ends of the ladder, as well asat anyinterniediatepoint,are formed, as shown at c', so as to enable the hose to be attached thereto. If desired, one or both of the tubes c c may be extended upward above the point where the ladder is suspended, so as to enable the strcarnto be delivered onto the IOO roof of the building. This extension may be in the form shown at @,Fig. l, and the eXtension may be provided with eross-bars c3, by means of which a person can mount from the ladder upon the building.\

The rounds e* of the ladder are preferably made as shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6. An endless strap is wrapped around the sides c o, and between the sides c c the two parts c5 c5 of the strap are drawn together by means of screwbolts c6. In this manner the strap is tightened around the sides c c sufliciently to hold the round in place vertically upon the ladder.

The parts o5 c", as shown in Fig. 6, are preferably sharpened or drawn to an edge at the top of the round. This is partly to prevent the formation of .ice in cold weather upon the round, and, secondly, if ice is formed upon the round, to enable it to be readily detached therefrom, and in this manner to prevent the ladder from being clogged with ice, as is apt to be the case in using a fireman s ladder in cold weather.

An additional feature is extending the main ladder C from its lower end downward to the ground-that is, as the ladder C is designed to remain as a fixture upon the building to which it is applied, it may be desirable often to terminate its main portion at or about the i the rope arrangement, the rope being carried around 'the sheaves i* i* instead ot' the pulley J. Rollers L are also shown, to keep the ladder fromdragging against the building.

With a light ladder the rope I and mechanism for communicating its movement to the Y pulley E may be dispensed with.

I claim- 1. The combination, with a ladder which is swung from a wheel, E, of an endless rope or chain applied directly to the ladder, and the means in connection therewith, substantially as described, for moving the ladder.

2. The combination, with a fire-escapeladder which depends from a rail and is sustained by a pulley, of gearing connected to the shaft of said pulley, and an endless rope or chain connected directly to and susceptible of being operated by a person on the ladder, substanstially asI described.

3. The combination ofa rail which is mounted on a building, a ladder sustained thereby by a single wheel, and means, substantially as described, for moving the ladder applied directly to the same, as specified.

4. The combination ofaladder, as described, with aswivel-connection, the eyes i i, arranged as described, and an endless rope or chain ap plied directly to the ladder, for the purpose specified.

5. The combination ofa suspended traveling and swinging ladder with an anti-friction rollerapplied at or nearitslower end and arranged to bear against a building, substantially as described.

6. The combination of a horizontally-movable and swinging or pendulum ladder suspended from a single wheel, and a roller-bearing near the lower end of the ladder, substantially as described.

7. A ladder having one or more tubular uprights, a suspension traveler therefor, an intermediate swivel between the top ofthe ladder and said traveler, and the means t'or moving the ladder, substantially as described.

fitness my hand.

FREDERICK SHICKLE.

YVitn esses:

C. D. MOODY, Conil E. HUNT. 

